Lovestruck 2
by killerbeemaster
Summary: Cassandra Cain meets and loses her match.


Lovestruck 2: Electric Boogaloo

It was dusk in Gotham when Cassandra Cain awoke. Like a vampire she stalked the night in search of prey. In search of evil doers bent on raising hell. She searched for the mask man filling her dreams. The one that got away...

It was like any other night in Gotham when he got away. She'd been trailing him all night. From the gallows to the piers to the highrises to the low income neighborhoods. Him and his group of lackeys were performing heists all over town.

He reeked of amateurism. No sane man would go this public. Would have this many loostrye ends. But in the end she was the fool chasing strings.

She'd just cornered one of his henchmen when the boss showed up. His mask hid his face apart from his cheekbones. Strong. Sturdy. She liked them and didn't know why. Had to keep her head straight. She was lost in motion. The fight, the chase from rooftop to rooftop. It was good exercise. But when it was all said and done the man got away. Damn it.

She threw herself against her sheets. Lost in the pursuit of the ultimate crime master made her tired. Batman would know better. She was supposed to know better. She longed for the days away from Gotham. Chasing bait. Hiking through the mountains. She took a short vacation in the Himalayas to take her mind off of things. Acclimitizing to the Andes was her next step. She never lost sight of the man though.

She saw him everywhere. On the bus, the train, the plane. His face could be anyone's. She thought of asking for help but this was her journey. Her struggle. In the end it be her catch. She waited.

It was another month before she picked up a lead. Dead end after dead up finally produced something noteworthy. A note left at a crime scene.

"I see you, Batgirl. Maybe next time."

The handwriting was illegible. Couldn't track it down. This guy was a master at deception. Probably enlisted low rank thugs to pass off as an amateur. No one ratted because no one knew. He mas a mystery. An enigma. A shadow.

Her caseload was building to a brink as she caught his trail. She'd tracked him down to a warehouse in the boonies. Her cape fluttered in the wind as she perched atop a ledge overlooking the street. She saw his van touch down and approached it. Inside were armed goons that stood no chance against her. She'd cracked ones jaw. Threw off her rhythm. They surrounded her. They fired off a shot grazing her. She could feel the flesh wound as she tackled the rest. The man in charge was nowhere to be see.

That's when the league closed in.

Ra's had a special place in his heart for Cassandra. Saw himself as the father she deserved. The daughter he never had. Unlike Talia she was the perfect weapon.

Feelings meant nothing to her.

"You're slipping." His assassins spread to her. "If you truly desire the man you're looking for come with us."

She did. They met outside of Wayne Enterprises. The security cameras were shutdown. Sent on a loop so no one would be privy to their midnight excursion.

"I desire the same thing you do, Cassandra."

Why? Cassandra thought. What did the mystery man have to do with the league.

"He's a long lost associate of mine."

Lies. The league has no associations. The league was its own empire.

"I'll let you know his location as long as you bring him to me."

Why have me do your dirty work?

"He's taken a liking to you. You'll do best to lower his defenses."

She followed the trail with the information given to her. She found an apartment rented to one Alan Ducard.

Inside the man rested. His mask removed. She saw his face. The face that had been haunting her dreams for so long.

He was nobody. A shadow in itself. No name. No fingerprints. No identity.

As the ninjas attacked he got up to meet Cassandra.

"I know you wish to understand me. If you let me go I'll show you who I really am."

They fought the ninjas. Their moves forming a ballet of destruction. The apartment was destroyed. The league was defeated. And the man fullfilled his promise.

He explained his relationship to Ra's. His apprenticeship. His falling out. Cassandra saw in him something she rarely did in others. A companion. An ally. An other. Someone who'd followed her path and turned against the league.

It was nice. It was real. It was a connection.

The end was near. A ninja pierced her blade inside him fullfilling the league's promise. Without Batman's protection he was a nobody. And a nobody stood no chance against the league.

As he faded into obscurity he smiled at Cassandra and Cassandra for the first time smiled back.

Her rage followed.

By then the league had vanished leaving her all alone to her madness. The time would come for the league to pay. One day. When the time was right.

The End was near. The end was here. The end was clear...


End file.
